dreainbrazil – Sister Aundrea Evans In Sao Paulo

so this week was great! we followed up with our three firm investigators and they were all baptized this week!!!!! it was beautiful!!!! they were all soo prepared to accept the gospel. i know tht God tests our faith but then blesses us and leads us to his elect children and strenghtens them and allows us to be a part of a pivotal moment in their lives. it really is beautiful. i know that this Gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ. i am so grateful to have gone through everything that i have on my mission. i know that God lives and love all of His children. i know that there has to be opposition in our lives for us to progress, or there would be no purpose in us being here. i know that everything happens for a reason. i know that we are a work in progress, and that God is refining us and shaping us to be something incredibly beautiful. it´s like a metal worker refining silver. he keeps working the silver and keeps it in the fire until he knows it´s ready. and he knows it´s ready when he is able to see in the silver his own reflection. i know that our goal is to become like Jesus Christ, and that we all have divine potential.

sorry it´s short today but i´ll tell you everything here in a week.

amo vocês!!!! boa semana!!!!

Sister Evans

Elder Tota’s cousin. Elder Tota is serving in the Nampa Idaho mission & specifically in my home ward Star 2nd right now.

The Last Melon…I Mean Letter

March 21, 2018 dreainbrazil

This week was great!!! we are teaching a young man named Daví who is 15 years old, and he is soooooooo excited to be baptized this Saturday!!!!! he started going to seminary with a friend and loved it and we found him and taught him and he loves the church and has a testimony of the book of Mormon and he´s a miracle!! his mom went to church Sunday as well to see what he´s getting into hahah and she loved it as well!!! I wouldn’t be surprised if this kid brings his whole family with him into the church soon. he already wants to go on a mission!!! we are also teaching a guy named Anderson who said he was baptized in a another state and so we thought he was a member but the bishop didn´t find his record, and we asked him if he remembered receiving the holy ghost and he said he didn´t. so he was never confirmed and he wants to be baptized again but this time for real and he´s super excited too!! we are also working with Anabelle who is such a cute girl 13 years old. she is loving the young women´s program. her dad is a less active member, but he always talked about the Mormons with her and always defended the church. and so she´s always been curious. his wife (her step mom) investigated the church a while back and was never baptized in any religion and is more than slightly interested again. she doesn´t say it but she wants it. I feel it. that´s weird I ´m sorry. and, this week was great because suddenly the youth program is working with us!!! the young men´s president met daví ´s mom with us and the young women’s counselors went to pick up Annabelle for an activity. and they went out Saturday night to grab a whole bunch of less active youth for an activity and had a great turn out on Sunday. and we brought part of a family that has been less active for a long time to church!!! and they were well treated. the young women were so good with them. ugh it´s so good. it makes me feel bad about who I was as a young woman. I didn´t do anything to help the missionaries. but I am so grateful for all these miracles. the ward is getting a lot better and is starting to help us more. we are trying to gain their confidence more and more and it´s paying off.

Also, today we went to the temple as half the mission and it was so good. I finally know a little better what I want to do with my life because until now I was lost. but I’m excited for this week and next week. it´s gonna be great. I know that god lives, and that Jesus Christ is our savior and that He atoned for our sins so that we can have joy in this life and mercy in our judgment and more joy in the life to come. I know that miracles happen every day we just need to open our eyes to see them. I know that families can be together forever. I LOVE THIS WORK AND THIS GOSPEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AMO VOCÊS!!! BOA SEMANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sister Evans

3 Weeks to go!

March 21, 2018 dreainbrazil

This week was rather normal, except for that I had to teach people and talked to people in English which was weird. guys my brain just doesn’t switch languages fast enough haha. and I can´t remember certain words inn English. kind of ridiculous but it´s fine. we found several great people and brought them to church. we were able to meet and bring to church 3 young women and they bonded super well with the young women in the ward. the youth here give me hope for humanity. we also brought a young mom and her 4 kids, and they loved primary and she really enjoyed the meetings and not having to deal with the children for 2 hours haha. our ward mission leader also called us Saturday afternoon and asked us where we were, and we made a ton of visits with him and his wife, which helped a lot, because he could go get the people for church on Sunday and the people would not be able to back out of it haha. It was so great it really saved our Saturday, because Saturday is usually the worst day for me. we were able to visit everyone and more than we had planned., but I know that what we are doing and how we are doing it is how God wants it.

I am so happy these days and am so grateful to be serving here in Brazil. I am grateful for everything that I have gone through, because I have learned so much. I know that we need to always look forward to the future with an eye of faith. I know that as we keep the commandments and always pray to the Lord for guidance, we can be happy even during times of trial. I know that everything we go through is to help us become better and more like God. I also know that God puts people into our path that can change our lives. I am so thankful for the people I have met here, and I can honestly say that many of them changed my life a little bit and made me a better person. I know that I am here literally to help God bring to pass a marvelous work. I know that this is THE church of Jesus Christ. I know that God loves us and knows our needs. I know that He wants to hear from us and wants to see us again. I know that there is no other way to live with Him if not through faith, repentance, baptism by someone holding the power and authority of God, the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and enduring to the end. HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!! AMO VOCÊS!!!!! BOA SEMANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sister Evans

3 weeks left

The hole in my shoe… I bought popsicles and tried to fix it with plastic popsicle sticks…it didn’t work

A fat cat that loooooooooves people. He kept sitting on me & his owner spanked him & so he threw a tantrum & sat on this box for awhile.

True Friends

March 5, 2018 dreainbrazil

Olaaaaa

essa semana foi boa, tivemos bastante milagres (This week was good, we had enough miracles.)

Yesterday we brought a few people to church which was really good.

Also, I noted something interesting. I finally came to the point where I am able to teach
people like they are my friends. The first lesson has just become a
story that I lived and I get to tell it to people and apply it to them
and their problems. I really love our investigators, the recent
converts here. They have really become my true friends, and I love
being able to be a missionary to have no excuse to visit them and to
watch them change as they accept the gospel in their lives. It truly is
a miracle. I am grateful to have seen my own changes as I seek to live
and teach the gospel principles. Unfortunately I had written out this
huge thing that I would send in the email in my planner, but I forgot
my planner. So maybe next week you guys will get the details. But I
love being a missionary holy cow. The only thing that sucks is that I
finally figured out how to be a good missionary at the end. Hahaha. Oh
well. I am really taking advantage of the time I have and working real
hard to finish Strong. I love the gospel and I love my savior. Thanks
for the prayers and fasts, it really makes a huge difference. Love you
all!! bo semana!!!!
—
Sister Evans

Cutting cardboard to fill the hole in my shoe

Coke or Pepsi?

How about both! haha

Homemade banana bread in a cake pan made by me

I Ran Out of Subject Lines

March 1, 2018 dreainbrazil

You know those weeks when almost everything falls apart and you don´t know what to do but cry? This week was one of those weeks. But we still were able to baptize Bryan, a 9 year old kid whose brothers and sister are active in the church but his parent’s aren´t. the kids all go to church together without the parents. The baptism was beautiful, his mom cried. They´re a great family, I hope they stay strong.

We had leadership council meeting this week, which was fun. We ate pizza for lunch. It talked a lot about how we need to work with and love others– members and missionaries. So I’m praying for that love and trying to see others through Christ´s eyes.

But I know that even during the difficult times, this is the Lord´s work, and that there has to be opposition in all things in order for us to progress and even to be happy. If we were never sad, we would never know what happiness feels like. I know that Christ´s restored church is here upon the earth, and that we have a living prophet to guide and direct us in our lives so we can return to our Heavenly Father. He lives!!!!

Love you all, boa semana!!!!!

#5weeks

Sister Evans

District Meeting

pizza at leadership training

this slugbug and I wore matching outfits

Looking for the Lord’s elect in the desert

#blessed

February 20, 2018 dreainbrazil

This week was great! We worked hard, and an investigator we´ve been working with for a while finally was baptized!! It was so great. She cried a lot haha. She´s the sister of a member who was less active. And wow I just love this family. They are basically my family. We made cappuccinos with them from cevada (which is a drink that you make the same way as coffee, and has the same taste, but without the harmful substances) and they loved it. It was so cool to see her change. After she was interviewed by the elder, she went and bought 2 skirts to use at church. Agh I love them so much.

It´s so cool how on the mission we learn to love strangers. You could say it´s a miracle, especially for me, someone who didn´t like to even look at or talk to people. But I think it´s incredible how we meet these people and just love them so much and want the best for them, and work so hard to help them understand their potential and have joy in their lives. I love watching them understand the commandments and their purpose, and making changes to receive the Lord´s blessings. I love when they accept the baptism date, and their excitement the day of, and the small changes they make maybe without even noticing, like wearing a skirt or a tie to church, or using “Mormon vocab´´ like ward, stake, etc. I know that I am no longer the same person that I was a year and a half ago. I don´t know specifically or exactly how I changed, but I know I have, and I’m grateful for that. I am thankful to know that I am a daughter of God, and that He will always love me no matter what. I know that He lives. I know that He guides us through living prophets, seers, and revelators. I know that Christ can and wants to heal us. I know that families can be together forever.

Love you all!!!! Boa seaman!!!

Sister Evans

Found a Brazilian flag in the street

My comp with back pain. I kept involuntarily making jokes & she laughed which hurt really badly & I kept laughing. Fun times!

What a Week

February 15, 2018 dreainbrazil

This week was pretty rough. I had to exercise patience and a lot of trust in the Lord when things didn’t happen the way I wanted them to. All may be fair in love and war but not on the mission. But hey, today is a new week.

But even with all this, we had some miracles. a member in the ward was at the bus stop and met another woman going to another church, and invited her to come to our church and she accepted! She went to church, we introduced ourselves, and she liked the church a lot, and even stayed the whole 3 hours!!! (That in itself is a huge miracle) then the same member invited her to lunch, and it happened to be the day she signed up to give lunch to us. So we had lunch and for the message, we taught the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ, and then we left, and I was suddenly hit with terrible headache and so we sat down at a bus stop and she came around the corner and invited us to see her house. And somehow the subject came up that we don´t drink coffee, and she said that she would stop drinking it now, and we didn´t even invite her to stop. She literally fell from the heavens.

I know that everything happens for a reason, and that there has to be opposition in all things, or else we wouldn´t be able to progress, learn, or even be happy. I’m thankful that I could serve a mission here in Brazil at this time. The world is kind of going down the toilet, but many wonderful things are happening as well, so we just gotta keep our heads up and do our best. The Lord is always by our side.

Love you all!!! Boa semana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!👍

Sister Evans

It was a hard day so we got ice cream took pics pretending to be happy

We are making a map of the favela area because it doesn’t exist on the official map

So…

February 8, 2018 dreainbrazil

This week was full of miracles. We FINALLY had a baptism!! We taught a guy named Milton who had a hard past, but has repented and desires a new start. It was so cool. He´s schizophrenic too, but when he went to church he was able to feel peace, and he felt that we were sent from God to help him become who God wants him to become. We also taught a little girl who is 8 years old whose parents are recent converts. Her step dad still has a little problem with alcohol, and so we had a lesson with the 3 of them in which the spirit was so strong. And then we asked the little girl to pray, and she said a prayer so powerful that water almost came out of my eyes. She gave me hope for a better world. She said something like this: “I know that when we go to heaven, Jesus Christ will say, `Very good, you did it. You did the things the Lord Commanded.´´´ funny thing is, that was something I was needing to hear and feel that day. This is just simply a fulfillment of the prophecy that the wise will be taught by the children.

The miracles just kept going the whole week. I’ve been sick for a while now, my body isn´t working properly anymore, but I am still able to work, and we are seeing miracles because of the work we do. We always joke that God blesses the sickies more, but it´s so true haha. But all is well, and I’ll hopefully be feeling better soon.

But I know that when we show God that we are willing to work for something we want, He provides a way for it to happen. We are never alone, and He knows our situations. I know that we are loved more than we know, and I love being able to help people see that.

Love you all!! Boa semana!!!!!!!!

Sister Evans

I got the poowweerr

Someone just has 2 Peacocks at their house

we ate at burger king!!! it´s wayyy better in brazil.

Hard Work Pays Off

January 22, 2018 dreainbrazil

This week we worked our butts off. And we used literally every resource we have access to. And it paid off. we have been working with this girl who was baptized alone when she was 8 and her parents weren´t because they weren´t legally married yet, but then they moved states and they moved back and now she´s 18 and her family always went to church in Epoca. But we´ve been working with them and we had a spiritual lesson on Saturday and the whole family, (her, her mom, step dad, and sister) went to church and it was the most beautiful thing. Wow. Her mom and step dad are now legally married and are progressing and will soon be baptized. I will not go home until they are baptized. They love the church, especially the mom. The step dad is cool too, but he drinks a lot, but we´ll help him understand that it´s worth it to leave behind something we enjoy for something bigger. And that´s a principle I understand well as a missionary. It´s gonna be great. I love helping people see their potential and the eternal perspective. For example, fasting. We sacrifice food and drink for 24 hours with the intention of becoming nearer to God or to invoke a blessing for a specific cause. And it works. I know that sacrifice truly brings miracles into our lives. I am grateful to be here, to be able to give everything that I have and want to the Lord, and know that He will give me something better. I know that we are children of God, and we need to remember that. He loves us, and we are never alone.

Amo vocês!!!! Boa semana!!!

Sister Evans

This lazy cat kept lying down so we’d play with it

we got scared because of the large amount of people in the street

I went to New York

Little Signs of God

January 15, 2018 dreainbrazil

This week I got sick. It was real fun. My stomach just didn´t want anything near it. Maybe it´s a parasite, maybe it´s Maybelline. But I’m better now. Things are staying still. For now. Anyway, this week was kinda slow for me, because it´s been a while since we´ve had a baptism I got kinda down. But yesterday my comp and I made plans to consecrate ourselves 100% until the end, and it´s gonna be good. I’m really excited. I want to finish the mission giving my all. Until the dust.

This week I looked a lot for the little signs of God´s hand in my life. For example, the wind. You can´t see wind. You feel it, see it touch the trees and the leaves and your hair, and if you listen hard you can hear it. And God is the same way. We mortals don´t have the privilege of being able to see God, but we know He exists because we feel Him, we see His works, we see Him touch the lives of people around us, and if we listen hard, we can hear Him. I know that God lives because of the love I have for my family, and their love for me that I feel. I know that God lives because there are so many good people that do good things. I know that God lives because people have died and suffered for His cause, teaching His gospel. I know that God lives because I have felt His love for those around me. Sometimes we have hard times, and it seems like we´re all alone with all the odds against us, but we are never alone. There is always someone there cheering us on. Our family, friends, our future family, and our Heavenly Parents and our dear brother Jesus Christ. They love us.

It´s weird when all your friends get back from their missions, and all your friends that you made on the mission are no longer there, and you´re just there still. But it really puts things into perspective. This life goes fast. No matter what happens, everything will pass. So we need to make the most of the time we have so we can look back with content on what we accomplished. We just have to be a little bit better every day.

Love you all!! Boa semana!!!